70th General Conference International Atomic Energy Agency - EU Statement at the General Debate

President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

We congratulate you, President, on your election and assure you of our full support and cooperation. 

We attach great importance to the technical and independent mandate of the IAEA, captured in the motto “Atoms for Peace and Development”. This is demonstrated as we celebrate 50 years of cooperation between Euratom and the IAEA.

We are meeting at a time of multiple crises and serious challenges. We can only overcome them together, by upholding and protecting a system based on international law, with the UN at its core, and by respecting our obligations and commitments.

It is now more than four and a half years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and illegally seized Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). These are not only violations of the UN Charter and international law, but also of the very principles of the IAEA Statute. The EU continues to condemn Russia’s war of aggression in the strongest possible terms, its deliberate and large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, actively undermining nuclear safety and security.

We are grateful to the IAEA for providing a key channel for delivering the European Union’s financial and technical help to Ukraine for nuclear safety and security. We strongly support the crucial and continued assistance provided by the IAEA to Ukraine and commend the courage and professionalism of the IAEA staff operating under unprecedented challenges, providing indispensable first-hand impartial information on the situation regarding all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. We recall the importance of the seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security in armed conflicts, as well as the five concrete principles for protecting the ZNPP.

The EU supports a full and unconditional ceasefire and remains steadfast in supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on international law. The EU supports the General Conference resolution on Ukraine and encourages all States to support its adoption. 

The EU has always been clear that Iran must never be allowed to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and that it must comply with all its legally binding nuclear safeguards obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran is the only NPT non-nuclear-weapon State to have produced and accumulated a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium, for which there is no credible civilian justification. The EU is gravely concerned by Iran’s almost complete suspension of its cooperation with the IAEA since June 2025. As clearly indicated by the Director General in his reports, Iran’s implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement cannot be suspended under any circumstances. We call on Iran to immediately return to the full implementation of its CSA obligations and full cooperation with the Agency, including the implementation of modified Code 3.1, and to reapply and ratify the Additional Protocol. These are indispensable steps to address in a credible and transparent manner the international community’s serious doubts about the asserted exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. 

We also call on Iran to remedy its non-compliance by taking all steps deemed necessary by the Agency and the Board, and we fully support the Director General’s efforts in this regard. The resolution adopted by the Board last week requests the DG to report Iran’s non-compliance to the UNSC, thereby completing a procedural step that is required under the IAEA Statute and crucial to uphold the Board’s credibility. 

The EU and its Member States remain committed to finding a lasting diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. We commend regional partners for their mediation efforts. It is crucial that all actors comply with international law, including the principles of the UN Charter, and international humanitarian law, implement UNSC Resolution 2817, and refrain from actions that endanger the prospect of a negotiated solution. The EU is ready to support the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. 

The EU condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) unlawful and destabilising actions, especially around its illicit nuclear programme that undermines regional and international peace and security. The DPRK cannot and will not have the status of a nuclear weapon state under the NPT, or any other special status. The DPRK must return to compliance with the NPT and the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and bring into force an Additional Protocol. 

We call on the DPRK and Russia to immediately cease their illegal military cooperation, which violate UNSC resolutions. The EU reiterates its call on the DPRK to return to diplomacy with all relevant parties to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and to take steps aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. This includes the IAEA’s return to the DPRK. We fully support the General Conference resolution on the DPRK.

The EU welcomes Syria’s transparency and cooperation with the Agency. This has enabled the Agency to clarify and resolve its questions concerning the outstanding safeguards issues previously reported to the Board regarding the Assad regime’s nuclear programme.  As a result of these efforts, Syria remedied its non compliance and previously undeclared nuclear material has now been placed under Agency safeguards. This is of crucial importance for the preservation of the integrity of the international non-proliferation regime. The EU welcomes the Board decision to close its consideration of the issue. We call on Syria to continue and reinforce its cooperation with the Agency. In this spirit, we strongly encourage Syria to conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol to rebuild confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities.

President,

We remain a strong supporter of the IAEA’s work across its full range of responsibilities to strengthen the international nuclear safety and security frameworks, and implement nuclear safeguards. 

 We strongly support the strengthening of the IAEA safeguards system. For the EU, the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, together with Additional Protocols, represent the current verification standard under Article III of the NPT. We continue to call for their universalisation. Additional Protocols are indispensable for the IAEA to fulfil its mandate and provide credible assurance, both of the non-diversion of nuclear material and of the absence of undeclared material and activities. 

We congratulate Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the entry into force of its Additional Protocol last year and Guinea and Somalia for bringing into force their CSA and AP in 2026. We call upon all remaining States to conclude and bring into force CSAs and APs without further delay.

The EU also urge all remaining States, which have yet to do so, to amend or rescind their original standard Small Quantities Protocol and apply the CSA in full. In that regard, we note with concern that the Agency cannot draw any safeguards conclusions for those States due to the limitations therein.

We attach utmost importance to nuclear safety and its continuous improvement during the entire fuel cycle and call on all States to work in close partnership with the IAEA on this matter. IAEA peer review services are instrumental for the implementation of EURATOM’s nuclear safety framework. We will also continue to provide significant support to the IAEA’s crucial work to support nuclear safety in other countries. We strive for continuous improvement aiming to achieve the highest possible level of nuclear and radiation safety, mindful of the importance of the IAEA safety standards.

We encourage all IAEA Member States to promote a strong nuclear safety culture. We strongly support the international nuclear safety instruments (conventions and code of conducts), as well as their universalisation and effective implementation. We appreciate the Agency´s continued commitment to maintaining Safety Standards fully applicable and up-to-date and the systematic approach to their development. 

We are concerned over the potential implications of armed attacks against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes, and call upon States to refrain from such actions, in accordance with international law.

The EU and its Member States reiterate their highest commitment to maintaining and strengthening effective and comprehensive nuclear security. We underline the importance of the universalisation and implementation of relevant international instruments, in particular the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its Amendment (A/CPPNM) and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT). In view of the upcoming second A/CPPNM Conference in April next year and its Preparatory Committee convened later this month, we encourage all State Parties to engage actively and constructively in preparations. We also reiterate our call to the States that are not yet Party to these Conventions, to accede. We furthermore encourage all Member States to promote a strong security culture and support the Agency’s commitment to maintaining up-to-date Security Guidance. The IAEA requires timely, reliable, and adequate resources to carry out its nuclear security activities, including from the Nuclear Security Fund and the regular budget. The EU and its Member States are major contributors to the Nuclear Security Fund and encourage all IAEA Member States to support it. 

President,

We support the Agency’s activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology to implement the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreements. 

We acknowledge the need to ensure energy security and respect the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and chose the most appropriate technologies to collectively achieve our climate target. We recognise that nuclear technologies can be of great help to mitigate the consequences of global warming and monitor its impact. 

Given the development of new technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR), the EU remains committed to striving for the highest level of nuclear safety. 

In line with the objectives of the Summit of the Future, we welcome the IAEA’s contributions to improving human health and nutrition, agriculture, food safety and security as well as water management; to combating climate change and its effects; and to preserving natural and cultural heritage through the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology. We welcome the Director General’s continued work on flagship initiatives, namely Rays of Hope, ZODIAC, Atoms4Food, Atoms4NetZero, NUTEC Plastics, and the recently launched ATLAS and look forward to this year’s Scientific Forum on “Rays of Hope – Delivering on the Promise of Cancer Care”. We welcome the role of the Group of Friends of Food Security in Vienna, co-chaired now by the EU Delegation and Sudan.

The EU and its Member States reaffirm their longstanding commitment to the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Programme and its need-driven and non-discriminatory nature. Technical cooperation continues to play a vital role in assisting Member States, especially the least developed countries, to use nuclear science and technology to facilitate health and prosperity. We attach great importance to international cooperation between Member States and thank the IAEA for the framework it provides in this area.

We appreciate the IAEA’s strong commitment to gender equality and the continued efforts to mainstream a gender perspective in programmes and projects. We commend the success of the Lise Meitner Programme and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme, to which we are proud to be the largest donor. Both programmes support an inclusive workforce of both men and women who contribute to and drive global scientific and technological innovation

Given our strong support for the IAEA’s work across its mandate, we underline the need for the Agency to be adequately funded to fulfil that mandate. Furthermore, we call on all Member States to pay their contributions fully and on time.

In conclusion, let me express our appreciation for the work of Director General Grossi and all staff at the IAEA. Your work is more essential than ever. You can count on our full support. 

Thank you, President.